Genderbender Caleo
by bluecupcakes
Summary: Another girl lands on Cal's island, Leonie. She's not pretty, she's scrawny and scruffy, and Cal curses that she isn't like Pershea or Odyssea, not pretty like them, but soon, he finds himself falling for her, harder than any other time. And...she might love him back.
1. Chapter 1

The girl woke up, her long, scruffy black hair surrounding her. Everything HURT. "Oh, Gods. OW!" Her shout got a tall, handsome man-who was, now that she looked carefully, a teenager, to walk to her.

"Gods!" He shouted. "All those other times, you gave me beautiful girls, like Pershea, and now, I get a scrawny little one?" His features contorted with disbelief and hate as he threw himself down on the beach.

"Hey!" Leonie shouted. "I might be ugly, but I'm BLEEDING! As in wound bleeding, not...never mind."

The boy looked at her in disbelief, his fine features scrunching up. "AARGH! FINE!"

"Geez, don't get all testy on me! I'm tryin' to be nice!" Leonie huffed.

Silently, the boy went into the cave, and came out with a washcloth, a bucket of water, and a roll of bandages. Quietly, his face still looking frustrated, he cleaned all of her wounds, surprisingly carefully, and bandaged them.

"You can walk, now leave me ALONE." The gorgeous boy stressed the word ALONE. Overstressed, actually, in Leonie's opinion.

"Wait, Mr. Grouchy!"

'Mr. Grouchy' turned.

"What's your name?"

"Cal. Now don't talk to me,"

"Geez," Leonie grumbled. "Fine."

She got up and watched his receding figure in the distance.

Then, she went the opposite direction, west, and started building a little hut and forge. She WAS a girl, but daughter of Hephaestia, the Goddess of the Forge. So anything mechanical or just plain brute work Leonie could do fine, the calluses on her palms and the muscles in her arms proof, as well as long, tapered fingers and more than perfect eyesight which allowed her to meddle with even the tiniest, most delicate, gears and wires.

A surprising discovery was celestial bronze. She began tinkering with it to find a way off the island. And so she did-for a whole day, forgetting sleep and food. So she was surprised when Cal arrived, bringing her a bowl of hot, warm, soup.

Cal's POV first person

That idiot scrawny girl hasn't shown her face in a while. I better go with food to make sure she doesn't starve to death. That won't be good. So I walk ten minutes to the little hut the girl constructed, with a hot bowl of soup, and I see her, working away at some Celestial Bronze scraps, concentrating on something way too small for me to see. I am impressed. She built all of this herself? She still doesn't notice me, so I take a good look at her. She has long, scruffy black hair tied into an unruly ponytail, warm, brown eyes, and light brown skin. Elfin ears and a babyish face complete the look of a small, pint sized elf. Even though I have been scrutinizing this elf for a good minute, she still doesn't look up. I have to rouse her, the soup is getting cold.

"Elf!" I say. She doesn't turn. "ELF!" I shout. This time, she looks up.

"Oh, it's you, Mr. Grumpy."

I look away and say, "I got you some soup. Drink up, it's getting cold."

"AWW!" She screeches. "Mr. Grumpy has a heart! OH MY GOSH! Mr. Cuddlebear! That's your new nickname."

I don't reply. I put the soup down on the table she's working on and turn to leave.

"Cal!" I hear her voice call me. Against my will, I turn. "What?" I grumble.

"Thanks for the soup." Her sharp voice and features soften a little bit.

I walk over to her and put my hand on her head, leaving it there for a few seconds, and then ruffling her hair. She looks at me with wide, brown eyes.

"Hey, Cal, kneel down." Entranced by some strange spell, I kneel. She puts her rough hand on my hair, and leaves it there for a few seconds. Then she starts to ruffle it, just like I did to her. Oh no. I get up. I run out. I'm falling for her. The inaccessible. AGAIN. Why this torture?

She tries to catch my tunic because it seems like she has something more to say, but I disentangle her fingers from the soft white cloth, and take off like a cannon. I can't endure this pain. Not now. NOT NOW!


	2. Chapter 2

Leonie's POV

When I said thank you, I had no idea that he would ruffle my hair. Those few seconds were magical, I could feel that, and I'm sure he could as well. Because his hand was tense, quivering-I could feel it. I wanted to know more about him. Why was he so mean to me, and then so nice? I tried to pull him back by his tunic but-I don't think that he wanted me there. That's me. A bother for everyone. I'm useless, and cumbersome. See, Pershea has Enna, and Jaza has Piper, Haz and Francesca, they all depend on each other and love each other. But no one loves me. Jaza wasn't even my best friend as I thought she was. Ever since my father died, that's the same message I kept getting from people. You're useless. You're unwanted. You aren't needed. No one would miss you if you were gone. Scary, right? Sometimes, I've even considered suicide, but then they'd have no one to pilot the Argo 2. So Cal's cruelty-I guess I'm used to that sort of thing. It still hurts, though. So I turn to my machines. I'm their creator, I'm their destroyer, I'm _useful_ where they are concerned. Living organisms are not my strength, I leave them alone.

Cal's POV

I ran. I'm such a coward. I must have hurt her. Hell, I've said the worst things to her since she was unconscious on Ogygia, but I thought I was justified. I really did. No one goes through worse than me, I'm the one in an eternal prison. I can't leave. And every five hundred years, a girl comes, who I fall in love with, but she can never stay. She always has a boyfriend, or a husband, that she has to get back to. And I weep. Centuries of heartbreak piled on top of each other...I want to die, to escape this, but I'm immortal. Well, there's one thing I _can _do. Apologize to that elfin girl. I mean, I don't have to get close to her, but it's not right for me to hate her, though.

I walk to the hut, urgently, and I knock at the door. There's no answer, so I peek in. The girl is asleep at her workbench, using her hands as a pillow. I sit next to her. The wood is hard. If she keeps sleeping here, she'll have a neck cramp. She's sleep talking. "Useless...die...they don't need..." and promptly stops talking. She's under a lot of stress, even I can see that. I gently scoop her up in my arms, bridal style, and feel my heart bang when she leans against my chest. I walk back with her to my cave-she barely weighs anything, she's so small, and I place her on a bed and tuck her in. She murmurs something unintelligible happily. One thing I notice-her clothes are burnt from something-I don't know what. I sit at my loom and weave her a surprise.

Leonie's POV

The morning light wakes me up. I immediately notice softness under me. I'm not at the workbench. Where am I? WHERE AM I? I start to curse violently in Spanish, panicking. What should I do? Am I in heaven? Has Gaea gotten me?

I feel a smooth, soft hand on my forehead. And a soft voice talking. "Hush, hush, it's alright, you're in my cave. I'm Cal, remember?"

My eyesight, blurry from the hyperventilation, starts to clear. I see a boy with delicate features and warm, cinnamon eyes. He looks as though he's calming a small puppy. Oh yeah. Me.

I sit up. "Uhum, thank you for the bed and the bowl of soup, thanks a lot, but I have to be going now." I'm not going to ask for his help, and get hurt AGAIN. I might look like a baby elf, but I'm not stupid.

Cal says, "Wait, I have to apologize to you. I've been really, really mean to you and you definitely don't deserve that. I'm so sorry."

"It's fine," I reply, "but I have to get going." I can forgive him, but I don't want to open my heart again. That's my fault. All this time, I've been friendly to the people who use me, or hurt me, just because of the war. Here, in this god forsaken island, I can show my true feelings. All I have to do is get outta this place. And I need my forges for that.

"No, wait," Cal looks troubled. "I noticed your clothes were burnt, so I wove new ones." He hands me a pile of something soft.

They're my exact clothes, good as new! A black top, and blue jeans. Even the bust measurements are correct. I redden. How did he know? But for a strange reason I trust him that he didn't do anything fishy when I was asleep.

"Aaand..." he says, clearly waiting for a reaction, "They're fireproof."

Incredulously, I set my index finger aflame and poke the fabric. Nothing happens.

"YAY! Oh my gosh these are the best! THANK YOU!" I jump and hug him. Not even a side-hug. A full-frontal assault-er, hug. He's surprised. I don't think he's ever hugged someone before. Compared to me, and I'm the master of glomps. I pull back. He looks confused.

"Silly, have you ever hugged someone before?" I playfully chide.

"What is this...hugging?"

I fake groan. "OK, so you put your arms below someone's shoulder like this." I take his arms and put it a few inches under my underarms. I feel tingly and have a case of total crush-jitters but I still follow through with it.

He feels it too, I think. He tries to keep his hands there without shaking.

"Next," I instruct him, "I put my arms under your shoulders as well." And then I did.

"And after that?" he asks.

"Pull the other person close to you," I say.

"How?"

"Like this!" I yank him forward until he covers me almost completely. I wrap my hands around his back and hug the life out of him. I can almost feel my face crimsoning.

And then, we both slowly pull back. He's much taller than me, and he looks down at me, and I look up at him. We both have the same thought. Ever so slowly, we inch our faces closer, careful not to collide noses. And then-he steals my first kiss.


	3. Chapter 3

I pull back from her warm, hot kiss, reluctantly. "Girl, there's something I have to tell you."

"FYI, my name's Leonie."

"What's FYI?"  
"For your information."  
"For my information what?"

She smiles. "Never mind."

I clutch her hand tightly and begin. "My full name...is Calypso." I brace myself for the impact.

The girl, Leonie, she thinks, the gears in her brain visibly turning. She draws a blank. "So? It's kind of a girly name, but I can live with it."

"No, you don't-wait, let me tell you the whole story." So I tell her all about my curse, the Fates, Pershea, and Enna. She looks at me, concentrating, and I can feel her profiling the information. This girl, reminds me of a robot.

"And?" she asks gently. I gulp. "Well, now that I know that you love me, and I love you, the Fates will send a silver raft to the island. It's your choice-to stay or to go."  
She staggers like she's been hit with a brick. "Well, to decide that, I need some time alone. At the forges."  
"Well, um," and this kills me, literally, kills me to say it, "don't worry about me when you make your decision."  
She starts walking into the distance and calls back, "don't worry, I will!"

Something that she would say. I smile and then groan. I make sure she's out of earshot, and then start to scream and curse the Fates.

"F*** YOU, YOU FUC**** BITC***! RUINING MY LIFE! RUINING LEONIE'S! I HATE YOU! WHAT HAVE I DONE FOR THIS MISERY TO FALL ON ME? DEATH WOULD HAVE BEEN BETTER, BUT, OH F***, I'M IMMORTAL!" I fall on the sand and beat my fists, sobbing, screaming, kicking. Abnormal? I do this every morning.

Leonie runs to my side, hearing my shouts. She sits and puts my head in her lap, stroking my hair, and singing a soft lullaby in a language that sounds like gibberish to my Greek ears. I slowly calm down, and she wipes my tears with the hem of her shirt. She tells me about wonderful things-her ship, her dragon, Festus, her Roman Camp, about cupcakes, chocolate, sushi, hamburgers, her friends Hazel, Francesca, Enna, Pershea, Jaza and Piper. She tells me about her father, Esperanz, who died in a fire in his auto shop, her mother, the Goddess Hephaestia, of the forges, she tells me about the orphanages, running away, her crazy coach Hedge, all in a soothing, lulling voice. I listen until I feel sleepy, and I nod off, in her lap, surrounded by her hair.


	4. Chapter 4

Cal's POV

I wake up and I feel something soft under me. I'm in my bed, at the cave. How could I be, after falling asleep on the sand? Leonie. She must have carried me. She's small, but she's strong. Wait-where is she?  
"Leonie! LEONIE!" I scream. She can't be taken away. She CAN'T. Where is she? I start to panic.

I see a dark haired figure running on the beach towards me. "Cal! CAL!" she prods me in the shoulder. "Yeah?" I ask, relieved that she's still with me. "You hate Ogygia, right? You want to see the world now, right?"  
"Of course, yes" I say.

Her dark eyes glint."I have a plan. Now run to the water with me." Against my will, she takes my hand and yanks me out of the bed, and runs with me to my most hated sight, the silver raft.

I start to say, "Leo-"  
She cuts me off. "Get on. Right now." She says tersely.

"But the raft never carries me, I've tried," I say.  
She replies, "All rafts are made of wood, silver or not." "TO THE GODS, I WORSHIP THIS RAFT, AS DAUGHTER OF HEPHAESTIA, AND I ADMIRE ITS WORKMANSHIP! LET ME KISS IT, TO SHOW MY REVERENCE!"

A rumble of thunder sounds, as if, "Go on." She bends her lips down towards the raft, and kisses the wood. And then-the raft lights on fire. It burns, and soon, it's gone.

Zeusia appears in front of us, radiating heavenly power. "YOU FOOLED ME, DAUGHTER OF HEPHAESTIA!"

"Well, Cal-1, Zeusia-0," Leonie retorts.

"As a punishment," she announces, anger making her regal voice more queenlike, "Leonie, you will be immortal, and stuck forever on Ogygia. But you were smart, and I have a feeling that you know exactly what will happen. Cal can go free."  
Zeusia disappears, and another raft sails to shore. It's not silver, this time, it's golden.  
"Leonie, you can't!" I scream. "I wont go without you!"

Leonie cuts me off by kissing me, and using all of her strength (which is a LOT of strength) she pushes me onto the raft, and whispers, "tell the raft to go where the crew of the Argo 2 are. They need a Titan's son to help them. And here's a scroll that has all the instructions on how to pilot the Argo 2."

"Why-" I start to say as the raft starts to set sail.

"Because," she shouts, and her voice recedes in the distance, "I love you. And right now, to you, and everyone, I am useful!"

EPILOGUE

Two years Leonie stayed on the island, and she didn't regret her decision once. She built marvelous wonders of war machinery that she sent to Olympus, and it was used in the war against Gaea, and it played a principal part in the war. The Gods and demigods won, a costly victory, with many depleted, but won all the same. Now other than occasional demons, demigods and their families could finally live in peace. She desperately missed Cal, though, and wondered if he survived. She hoped with all her heart he did.

And then one day, the biggest ship came into view. Even though it had been so long, Leonie knew which ship it was. It was her ship. The Argo 2. Cal came running out, enveloped her in a big bear hug, and picked her up and departed the cursed island with his love, forever.

Thank the Gods.

THE END


	5. Chapter 5

OHMAGOSH PPL ITS AN EFFIN EPILOGUE WHERE LEONIE SEES HOW THE REST OF THE ARGO TWO HAS REACTED TO CAL! I'd credit all who reviewed but I guess you ppl want to read the story so I'll DEF do it next time...xoxo!

* * *

Epilogue:

As they got onto the ship, Leonie was so happy. She could finally get back to her life, because two years on Ogygia by herself had been, needless to say, quite boring. And also, needless to say, Cal. You have no idea how much she thought of him, honestly. Every time (and it was often) that one of her machines didn't work, the image of his smiling face, sometimes, was all that kept her going.

"LEONIE!" Jaza ran to her, wrestled her from Cal's arms (much to his sadness) and glomped her. (jump-hugged her.) Leonie pulled back and looked at Jaza's face. Of course, it was much more adultlike-and there were lines of sorrow near her eyes.

"Oh, God," Leonie said. "Who did we lose?"  
"Nica, she sacrificed her life to save Francesca's and Piper's" _I_  
"WHAT? THAT'S LIKE COMMITTING SUICIDE! WHY DIDN'T YOU GUYS KEEP TABS ON HER?"

Then she saw Haz's face. It was crumpling into tears. "Oh, Haz," Leonie said. "I'm so, so sorry, about what I said, and your sister, too..."  
Leonie held Haz's hand and kissed it, and Haz felt better. Then again, those two did have a weird relationship.

Then, Leonie saw who was holding Haz's other hand.  
"FRANNY!"

After a huge greeting and reminiscing party, they all had a 'sleepover', chatting and laughing by the campfire on the prow of the ship, hands entwined, jovial laughing long after the marshmallows were over.

_I might not be that useful to anybody, _Leonie thought as she drifted off to sleep right next to Cal, _but I'm surrounded by people who love me. And I'm happy. That's the most important thing._


End file.
